


Flamestouched

by FaithlessBex



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Gen, Introspection, mentions of the others - Freeform, minor spoilers for episode 10, neutral evil caleb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 11:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13997670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithlessBex/pseuds/FaithlessBex
Summary: The Mighty Nein are just more kindling. He almost wishes he could feel bad about it.





	Flamestouched

Trust can’t be given. Caleb isn’t even sure it could be earned – not with him, at least. He’d broken out of jail with Nott, traveled with her for months before they joined up with these idiots, but he can’t rightly say that he trusts her. Not with any real truth. Affection, though, that he can do. It helps that the goblin is endearing and useful and someone to make sure he keeps himself on the straight and narrow.

_She’s not the only one with an itch, after all._

Nott has sticky fingers, Caleb has fire. Even when his reserves – meager from disuse – are depleted, he can still call it effortlessly as the day he learned to use it. The thing about fire is that it is all consuming. It devours until there is nothing left for it to feed off of and Caleb is its kin. He’s hurt people before to satiate it and himself, back when the fire and the magic was all he could think of

_The Mighty Nein are just more kindling. He almost wishes he could feel bad about it._

With them, though, perhaps Nott will last long enough to leave him. She is the one he’ll regret destroying the most but he knows it will happen if she stays. What he didn’t tell Fjord was that he’s tried before, tried to stop himself from letting his needs take hold. He was left with a pile of burnt tinder and a warm feeling in his chest, the beast sated.

_Jester he might regret, he supposes, listening to the cleric wax on about her deity._

The others will be easy enough. Beau with her questions, Molly with his morality and ever watching eyes. Fjord and his abilities, source of his abilities unknown, but suspect. Yasha, the wanderer, he’s not sure of. If he burns Mollymauk, lets himself do as he only thinks when the tiefling is asleep, Caleb is certain his end will be at the pale woman’s sword.

_He thinks he’d like to burn Zadash, burn every nexus of the Empire as the Cinder King destroyed Emon in Tal’Dorei when he was only a child._

That requires more than him. More than a wizard with fire in his soul and a disregard for the constraints of moral high grounds. It requires, he supposes, a warlock, a cleric, a thief, a monk, a barbarian, and whatever in the nine hells Molly is. There is rebellion brewing without them. A distraction for those Caleb would see devoured by the flames he needs and fears and loves.

_They may even consume him, but that… that is inevitable._

**Author's Note:**

> I like the idea of Neutral Evil Caleb, taking into account some of the things Liam's said about the character and the things Caleb himself has said or done. But yeah, this was mostly self-indulgent. I love the dirty wizard, but I don't trust him for a minute.


End file.
